Reporting for Al Jazeera from Shlomi, Lebanon, Sara Khairat has heard outgoing artillery fire from Israel into Lebanon in the past few minutes. All along Israel’s northern border, there are plenty of checkpoints to ensure that no one enters what has now become a military zone.

As we headed to the town of Shlomi, which is right on the border with Lebanon, we heard sirens go off and saw incoming artillery fire from Lebanon being intercepted by the defence system.

Shlomi is a ghost town. The schools are closed, the widows are shut and there is concern that a lot of the businesses will go bankrupt.

An estimated 65,000 Israelis received an order from the government to leave their homes. Residents are afraid to return because of the barrage of incoming rockets from across the border.